AlphaSights signed a lease for 46,000 square feet at RFR Realty’s office building at 350 Madison Avenue, bringing the business information services firm closer to the city’s core business district.
The London-based company signed a six-year lease for the full 12th and 14th floors as well as a portion of the 15th floor in Aby Rosen’s [TRDataCustom] 400,000-square-foot property at the corner of East 45th Street, a representative for the landlord confirmed.
“Based on the proximity to Grand Central, it really works out well for their business,” said RFR leasing director AJ Camhi.
The asking rent was $75 per square foot, with a contribution from RFR to build the space out.
AlphaSights, founded in 2008, serves as a liaison between business clients and area-specific experts who can answer their questions. The company, for example, connects private equity clients looking to acquire companies in new markets with experts about the target firm’s business.
After Opening Its First New York City Office On East 42nd Street in 2011, the company made the move to the Times Square area, where it now occupies about 22,000 square feet at 229 West 43rd Street, the old New York Times building.
AlphaSights and its leasing team at Cushman & Wakefield had shown interest in another RFR building near Grand Central Terminal, 285 Madison Avenue. The landlord is in negotiations there to lease about 150,000 square feet to the fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger.
RFR was able to accommodate the tenant though by finding space at the 23-story 350 Madison at the corner of 45th Street, which the owner acquired in 2013 for $261.5 million. Other tenants in the building include the Israeli lender Bank Leumi, the World Economic Forum and the Korea Society, which in December signed a lease for just shy of 10,000 square feet on the property’s upper floors.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Gus Field, Jon Herman, Robert Lowe, Brooks Hauf, Gary Ceder and Will Barrett represented AlphaSights, while JLL team that includes Alexander Chudnoff, Mitchell Konsker, Daniel Turkewitz and Diana Biasotti negotiated on behalf of RFR alongside Camhi.
AlphaSights plans to move into the space during the second quarter, Camhi said.
Correction: AlphaSights occupies 22,000 square feet at 229 West 43rd Street. That figure was misstated in an earlier version of this article.